We acknowledge support
by the National Science Foundation
awards ECS-0420888, DUE-0633621 and DUE-0920500
the University of Rochester Kauffman Foundation Initiative,
the Spectra-Physics division of Newport Corporation, and the
2012 Wadsworth C. Sykes Faculty Engineering Award, Hajim SEAS,
University of Rochester.

In addition to four-credit hour OPT 253/OPT 453/PHY 434 course we have adapted to the main challenge (the lack of space in the curriculum) by developing a series of modular 3-hour experiments and 20-min-demonstrations that were incorporated into a number of courses ranging from freshman (OPT 101) to senior level, in both physics (PHY 243 W) and engineering (OPT 223). Rochester Monroe Community College students also benefited from this facility by carrying out two 3-hour labs at the University of Rochester (see 2012,2011,2010,2009, 2008 years and Freshman Research Projects).

Experiments:

Lab 1 - Entanglement and Bell's Inequalities (Wilmot 405 &
323) Manual (PDF)Lecture (PDF)Lecture 2 (PPT)
Entanglement is the most exciting and mysterious property of some quantum mechanical
systems when property of one particle correlated with the property of the other.
It does not matter how far apart such entangled particles are located. Among
the best known applications of entanglement are quantum communication and quantum
state teleportation. In this lab students obtain a polarization entangled state
of two photons using spontaneous parametric down conversion in two type I BBO
crystals. Bell’s inequality [see paper J.
Eberly, Amer. J. Phys., 70 (3), 276 (2002)] is a classical relation and
in quantum mechanics it is violated. To calculate Bell’s inequality students
use measurements of the coincidence counts between two single-photon detectors
at different settings of linear polarizers in front of each detector. These
are located in the opposite sides of a cone of down converted light. Initially
this experiment was described in paper P.G.
Kwiat et. al., Phys. Rev. A. 60, R773 (1999). For undergraduate laboratory
the experiment was developed in papers D. Dehlinger and M.W.
Mitchell, Am. J. Phys, 70, 898 (2002) and D.
Dehlinger and M.W. Mitchell, Am. J. Phys, 70, 903 (2002).

Lab 3 - Confocal Microscope Imaging of Single-Emitter Fluorescence
(Wilmot 323) Manual (PDF)Lecture 1 (PDF)Lecture 2 (PDF)
In this lab students learn how to produce single photons obeying the laws of
quantum mechanics. A single-photon source (SPS) that efficiently produces photons
exhibited antibunching is a pivotal hardware element in photonic quantum information
technology. Secure quantum communication (see attached
paper) with single photons will prevent any potential eavesdropper from
intercepting the message without the receiver's noticing. SPS also enables quantum
computation using linear optical elements and photodetectors. To produce single
photons exhibiting antibunching a laser beam should be focused into area containing
only one emitter. A single emitter emits single photon at a time because of
fluorescent lifetime. In this lab students get acquainted with a confocal fluorescence
microscopy of single emitters and photonic bandgap materials. Using confocal
microscope they image the fluorescence of single colloidal semiconductor quantum
dots and single dye molecules. Students also prepare 1-D photonic bandgap chiral
liquid crystal samples doped with quantum dots and obtain images of quantum
dots in this photonic bandgap structure.

Lab 4 - Hanbury Brown & Twiss Setup, Photon Antibunching
(Wilmot 323) Manual (PDF)Thesis on Single-Photon Source (PDF)
In this lab students learn how to prove that a source of light is a single photon
source. In difference with light attenuated to a single photon level, photons
from single emitters exhibit antibunching. Students observe fluorescence antibunching
from single quantum dots in photonic bandgap liquid crystal host using a Hanbury
Brown and Twiss interferometer and measuring time intervals between two consecutive
photons using time correlated single photon counting card TimeHarp 200. They
also measure fluorescence lifetime of dye molecules.